Obama and other "Magic Negros"/Obama e outros "negros mágicos"

During the campaign and recent election of Illinois Senator Barack Obama, many in the press have been asking if the electionof a black man will improve race relations in United States. I respond to the question now as I have throughout Obama’s historic campaign: Race relations in the United States will change very little with the election of a black president. The Obama phenomenon will be another example of the myth of the “magic negro”. The “magic negro” is a stereotype of a special type of black man who is believed to have “mystical” powers or talent that make him better or more acceptable to white people.Often times, white people who idolize or accept the “magic negro” continue to carry negative stereotypes of “regular” black people and often times have little or no contact with any black people. There are several examples of the “magic negro”stereotype that I could use from my own experiences.

For example, many years ago I dated a white girl from a middle class family. The girl’s father believed every stereotype about blacks that ever existed and he rejected the idea of his daughter dating a black guy. The girl always told me about the racist comments that her father would say when I wasn’t a guest in their home. When there was a news report about a black man being arrested or suspected of a crime, he would always scream about how terrible “those niggers” were. The strange thing is that, after two years of knowing me, eventually, he accepted me as a person. We started going to football games without the presence of my girlfriend. When he used the term “nigger” when I wasn’t in their house after seeing another negative image of black men on the news, my girlfriend would ask, “But what about Marques?” His response? “Marques isn’t a nigger; he’s Marques.”

In Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing, one of the white characters explained his opinion that black idols like Prince and Earvin “Magic” Johnson (perfect example) weren’t niggers. Hollywood has always contributed to the myth of the “magic negro” in films like The Legend of Bagger Vance (Will Smith), The Green Mile (Michael Clarke Duncan) and Evan Almighty (Morgan Freeman). Many athletes are also good examples of the “magic negro”. Fans of athletes like Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, “Magic” Johnson, Pele, Ronaldoand Romario are idolized by millions of people who nevertheless believe that “regular” black people are criminals, poor,or less intelligent than white people. In my personal example, my girlfriend’s father imagined me to be equal to the image he had of other black people until he was able to interact with me on a daily basis, recognize me as a normal person and thus breaking the stereotype he imagined of blacks. The problem is that, although he learned to accept me, he continued to believe in stereotypes of other black people.

During his campaign, Obama was able to win the hearts and minds of many whites and blacks with his charisma and passionate speeches. People began to believe the “magic negro” Obama could do things that others could not. This does not mean that the image of blacks as a whole will change in the minds of white people. This also applies to interracial marriage. People seem to believe that because a person marries someone of another race that he or she cannot be racist. Again, someone can make an exception to the rule for one black person who he or she sees as “different” than other blacks, but it does not necessarily apply to black people as a whole. This is how I think the majority of whites will continue to view black people, even with a “magic negro” as president.